molean



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheep 1.

J. H. MG'LBAN.

"BREBGH LUADING PIRE ARM.

No. 290,905. Patented Deo. 25, 1883.

(N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,.

JpH. MOLEAN. BREECH LOADING PIRE ARM.

No. 290.905. Patnted Dgo. 25, 188s.

A'rnNr JAMES HERY MCLEAX, OF ST. LOUIS, MISBOURI.

BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARM.

SPEGIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No.

290,905, dated December es, ieee.

Application filed December 30,l1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern/f Be it known that l, Janus HENRY McLnilN,

` of the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in BreeCh-LOading and MagazineFire-Arms, of which the following isa specification. 1

My, improved arin is constructed with a hinged breech-block openinglaterally and earrying the lock, which may be of the firing-pin orhammer type, as preferred. rlhe ejectingspring is compressed in the actof loading, and the cartridge is held in its place within the chamberagainst the pressure of said spring by a spring-stop engaging with theback of the cartridge and holding the shell when the breech is lirstopened and until theway is clear for its eject-ion. On the hinge of thebreech-block is an obliquefaced lug` acting in the opening of the breechto retract the springstop from the rear of the cartridge-shell and toloosen the shell from its seat, so that it may be driven out by therecoil of the ejectingspring. The breech-blocl is held shut by a spring-bolt with an upwardly -projecting thumb piece, in convenient positionto be pressed forward by the thumb of the right hand while grasping thepiece within reach of the trigger. n the side wallet' the breech is aninternal spring pressing against the face of the hinged breech-block, soas to throw it out when its spring-catch is retracted, and the saidinternal spring7 when relieved of constraint, assumes a curved form,adapting it to serve as a guide or dellector to throw the ejected shelllaterally or sidewise from the gun. The automatic cooking of the hammeror firingpin is performed by a switch on the interior of the breechacting on a lug or pin projecting from the firing-pin, so as to pressthe latter back into cocked position when the breechblock is closed. Thepin is caught by a trigger, and the lug by which it was pressed backpasses beyond the switch, so that the firingpin may be thrown forward byits spring when released by the trigger. rlhe forward end of the switchis hinged so as to open outwardly,

. L vpermitting the passage of the firing-pin lug when the pin is thrownforward. The loading may be performed by hand or the cartridges may befed automatically by gravity from a magazine adapted to contain six ormore rounds. The magazine is seated in a dovetail groove on the' side ofthe breech opposite to that on which the breech-block opens; rEhecartridges are fed in succession by gravity through a lateral slot to atrough beneath the breech-block and in front of a sliding plunger,formed with a projecting knob or handle for thrusting it forward bymeans of the thumb. rlhe cartridge is thus carried to firing positionwhen the breech is open, and the loadingplunger prevents the passing ofa new cartridge into the trough until it is again retracted. Theloading-plunger is retracted either by hand or by means of a. springwhen a new cartridge automatically descends in front of it, whetherthebreech is open or closed.

The invention is applicable to artillery asy well as to small-arms. Inapplying the improvements to artillery the charge-chamber and loadingmechanism are completely in front of the trunnions, so that the lattermay be formed on a solid portion of the gun. avoid any irregular shapeand thickness of metal around the loading-chamber and barrel of the gun,and ain enabled to construct allthese portions which are required-tobear the strain of tiring to the best advantage for this purpose and towrap the same with steel wire in customary manner.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, I will proceed todescribe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure l is a perspective view of the breech portion of a musket orshouldergun illust-rating the invention, the breech being open. Fig. lis a detail perspective view of the hinge portion of the breech-block.Fig. 2 is a plan of the breech of the gun with thebreech closed andomitting the magazine. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 4is a horizontal section. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the spring-stopemployed for retaining the cartridge within the load-chamber. Fig. 6 isa perspective view of the ejectingspring. Fig. 7 is a verticaltransverse section ofthe gun on the line 7 7, Fig. 3. Fig. Sis a detailperspective view ofthe trigger mechan- I thus IOO 5 is the hingedbreech-block, working on av vertical pin, 6, so as to open laterally, asrepresented in Fig. 1. The socket-piece 7 ofthe hinge is formed in onewith the breech-block 5, and is provided with an oblique-faced lug,

8, for the purposes presently to be described.

9 represents a V-shaped spring-ejector rigidly attached at one end tothe lower portion. of the firing-chamber 3. The saidspring-ejectoris'compresssed by the flange of the cartridge in the act of loading, iureadiness for ejecting the empty shell from the chamber when the saidshell is released. (See Fig. 3.) The cartridge is shown in position at10.

- 11 represents a spring-stop, the form of which is shown in Fig. 5. Itsspring-shank 11n is secured by its rear end to the breech-frame 2, andcarries in front a transverse arm, 11, formed in the rear with anoblique face, adapting it to recede upward by the pressure of the iiangeof the cartridge in entering and to descend behind the said flange,holding the cartridge firmly in position against the spring 9, which isthus held under constraint, in readiness to eject the cartridge or shellwhen the spring-stop 11 is tripped or retracted. This retraction of thespring-stop is effected by the contact of the oblique upper face of thelug 8 with the extremity 11c ofthe spring-stop, after which the said lug8, which for this purpose works in a groove in the breech, engages withjthe cartridge-fiange, so as to start it from its seat and permit it tobe freely ejected by the recoil of the spring 9. Ihe breech-block isheld in closed position by a spring-bolt, 12, formed with a knob orthumb-piece projecting upward in convenient position to be pressedforward by the thumb. Vhen thus released, the breech-block is thrown outby a spring, 13. The said spring, when thus relieved of pressure,assumes the curved form shown in Fig. 1, to serve as a deector to throwthe shell laterally outward away from the face of the soldier.

Vithin the breech-block 5 is a firing-pin, 14, thrown forwardV in theact of firing by a 15, confined between a collar, 16, on the ring-pinand a hollow screw, 17, forming a bearing portion for and within whichthe firing-pinvworks.

In front of the collar 16 is a weaker spring,

`18, to retract the pin within the breechblock after the stroke has beendelivered, and thus to hold the point of the pin out of reach of the capor primer. The co'cking is effected by a lug or pin, 19, projectingdownward from the .firing-pin through the bottom of the breechblock, inwhich a longitudinal slot is provided for it.

In the act of closing the breech the pin 19 engages with anoblique-faced switch, 20, serving to retract the firing-pin to cockedposition, where it is caught by a trigger, 21, the pin 19 passing beyondthe cooking-switch 20, so that the latter will present no obstruction infiring. The front portion of the switch 20 is hinged so as to openoutwardly, permitting the passage of the retracting-pin 19 when thebreechblock is opened, after which the said hinged portion of the switchis closed by a suitable spring.

Ihe mechanism above described is adapted for a breech-loading arm.

` To provide a repeating-gun I employ a magazine, 22, adapted to containsix or more cartridges in vone or more vertical tiers or chambers, allthe chambers after the first being pro vided with Ydoors 23, as shown inFig. 7, so that after the first chamber is depleted the others will feedin succession. The magazine is seated between dovetail anges 24: on theside of the breech opposite to that on which the breech-block 5 opens.The" cartridges are delivered in succession through a slot, 25,underneath the breech-block 5, directly in front of a plunger, 26, whichis thrust forward by a knob or handle, 27, to carry the cartridge up theinclined trough in which it rests into the firing chamber in rear of thebarrel. rIhe plunger 26 is of sufficient length to prevent the escape ofanother cartridge into the trough until it is itself retracted, when theneXt cartridge descends by gravity in iront of the plunger, ready forloading. The plunger 26 gradually decreases in size toward the rear end,so that it can ride up the inclined slideway without danger of cramping.The conical form of the cartridge guides it into the barrel after thepoint has effected an entrance. Vhen the cartridge has assumed ahorizontal position, the plunger 26 may be withdrawn and the swingingbreech-block closed, therebydriving the cartridge into theiiring-chamber.

The manner of constructing and applying the magazine adapts it to bereadily put on and off the gun, and to be supplied with new cartridgesas often as required. As a guide to assist in hand-loading, a shelf, 27,may be provided within the breech-chamber directly beneath thebreech-block 5. f

Parts of my invention are equally applicable to guns having externalhammers. This modification is illustrated in Fig. 10. The iiring-pin ishere placed in oblique position to adapt itto receive the stroke of thehammer. It may, as in previous illustration, be retracted by the closingof the breech, and thereby elevate the hammer to full-cock and thenrecede from it, or the hammer may be cocked by a similar lug and switchacting directly upon it or by hand, the movement of the firing-pin beinglimited lto that imparted by the front spring, 18.v

-In ordnance the hinged breech-block carrying the lock and firingmechanism already described may be placed instead of laterally,

IOC)

IIO

as herein shown, either ori top or underneath, l as preferred.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a magazine iire-armhavingalaterallymoving breech -bloek, amagazine provided with a series of vertical chambers having feedingmechanism, as described, a receiving-slot for the reception of thecartridges directly under the breech-block, anda plunger provided with ahandle for thrusting the cartridge, as set forth.

2. In a breech-loading or magazineiire-arm, substantially ashereinbefore described, the breech-block moving laterally on a verticalpintle to open the breech, in combination with a V-shapedejecting-spring attached to the lower portion of theiiring-chamber andadapted to be compressed by the cartridge in the act of loading, and toeject the empty shell when the breech-block is thrown open,substantially as set forth.

3. In a breech-loading or magazine fire-arm, substantially ashereinbefore described, the breech-block moving laterally on a verticalpintle to open the breech, and provided with a socket-piece having anoblique-faced lug, in combination with a spring-stop, l1, having ashank, 11', secured to the breech-frame, a transverse arm, ll'b, and anend piece, 1F, all adapted to operate as and forthe purposes set forth.

4. In a breech-loading or magazinefire-arm,

substantially as hereinbefore described, the breech-block movinglaterally on a vertical pintle to open the breech, and provided with asocket-piece, 7 having an oblique-faced lug, 8, for reti-acting thespring-stop 11, in combination with a V-shaped ejecting-spring attachedto the lower portion of the iringehamber, all arranged substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

5. In a breech-loading or magazine lire-arm, substantially ashereinbefore described, the combination of an oblique-faced switch atthe bottom of the breech-chamber with the laterally-moving breech-block,having a iiring-pin working within it, and provided with a lug, 19,projecting through a longtudinal'slot in the bottom of the breech-block,and adapted to be engaged by such switch for placing the pin in a firingposition, substantially as set forth.

6. In a breech-loading or magazine fire-arm, substantially ashereinbeforc described, the laterallymoving breech block 5, having aspring-bolt, 12, for retaining the said breechblock in a closedposition, in combination with the spring 13, adapted to throw out thebreechblock when released and to deilect the car` tridge-shell, asexplained;

JAMES HENRY )IoLEi-XN.

lvitnesses:

OcTMIUs KIGHT, GEO. T. SMALLwooD, Jr.

